Pandora's untold stories
by bittyboo26
Summary: Scooter's niece wants to be a vault hunter and when Zero, Maya, Axton, and Sal show up she realizes that maybe her dream could come true until a fifth stranger, claiming to be writing about the said vault hunters, brings her back to reality. But there's no stopping Lily when her mind's made up, and everyone is just going to have to accept what happens next.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

I first learned of my generation of vault hunters at my dad's garage. Well, Scooter wasn't my biological dad, but he raised me and I like to call him my dad, even though he insists on Uncle Scooter. He feels it gets him bonus points with the ladies. Taking in a child who's not even his own. His words, not mine.

I walked through the door in the back that led to the upper level and froze when I heard him yell, "you'll never take me alive you robotic summbitches." I crouched against the far wall on the metal floor so no one downstairs could see me and tried to assess the situation. My heart was racing, and I knew Scooter was eccentric most of the time, but with Handsome Jack wanting to find and attack the headquarters of the Crimson Raiders, who knew what situations you could trust these days.

"Wait a minute…" Scooter's voice lowered and I had to move closer to the edge to hear what he had to say next, but his words were drowned out by my fascination at the two men facing him.

They were both tall, but one was built with broad shoulders, strong jawline, short cropped blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. The other, who really intrigued me, was slender, covered in a skin tight impenetrable black suit that showed off his lithe muscles. He wore a dark helmet that hid his face quite well. There wasn't even an outline of a face that could be seen. I briefly wondered how he could even see out of such a dark screen.

When Scooter said 'Vault Hunters' my attention snapped back to the conversation. He was telling them about his and Roland's plan to get Sanctuary off the ground. Roland, the Crimson Raiders' leader, and Lillith, his girlfriend, spent a lot of time and energy after their vault hunting days to make sanctuary and the Crimson Raiders top notch and hidden from Handsome Jack and Hyperion. They both haven't been around for quite some time and no one really talked about it, which made me crazy with worry. I practically worshipped them and made it a point to spend as much time at Marcus' gun range to practice so eventually I could be a Vault Hunter. But the only thing I lacked was the guts to actually leave sanctuary. I still dreamed, though.

I pursed my lips, stood up, and scrambled back against the wall when I noticed the slender man run up the stairs. He moved with predatory grace and his muscles constricted with every step he took.

Look, I was attracted to the guy, okay? Of course I noticed his thigh muscles. I'm a woman for crying out loud. And they made me feel some things that I'd never felt before in my 18 years of life. Like, a lot of heat in my chest and face, and the urge to run my hands all over his body. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the job Scooter had for me. I squared my shoulders when the man noticed me, nodded to him, and practically ran down the stairs to get away from the heat of the gaze I felt on me.

"Hey Uncle Scooter," I spoke softly while the two Vault Hunters searched for the fuel cells that were needed for the plan.

"Hey Lils," Scooter smiled widely, his round, grease stained face crinkling. "There's been a change uh plans." I loved his drawl. I picked up on it a bit, but it wasn't as thick as his.

"Why don't ya go see if Moxxie needs help at the bar?" He pulled the bill of my cap down over my eyes and I laughed. Moxxie was technically my grandma. She hated that, and insisted I called her Aunt Moxxie if I felt like I needed a more family-oriented name for her.

"Okay, just be careful." I rubbed a grease spot on his tan vest. "Remind me to wash our clothes later today." And with that I snuck out as Scooter continued to talk to the Vault Hunters about needing to get the last fuel cell from Earl. Earl was crazy. He ate my car with a fork and I've been pissed at him ever since. The car was a total lemon that I fixed up all on my own.

I walked over to Moxxie's bar, which was practically next door and when I arrived I saw two other people that I'd never seen before. A woman, and a man. The woman had the same markings as Lilith did, short blue hair, blue lipstick and a slender, tall build. The man was short. Probably my height with dark hair and tanned skin, and huge muscles. The woman had a serene, controlled look on her face, while the man openly scowled at everyone staring at them. If I had to guess, I'd assume they were Vault Hunters as well.

They were leaning against the wall by the slot machines and I couldn't help but stare as I walked past over to Moxxie. The man bared his teeth at me, and I quickly looked away and quickened my pace.

"Hey, Mox," I slid behind the bar right next to her as she was making a few drinks. "Do you know what's going on with these new Vault Hunters?"

Moxxie looked up from her work and smirked at me, her usual greeting for those whom she loves. It's rare to see her smile. "They showed up to hunt a vault."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, thanks for that." I shook my head and grabbed my apron so I could start taking orders.

"Sugar, you know I'd tell you more, but Scooter doesn't want you involved. He wants you to have a life free from all that goes down with vault hunting," her violet eyes traced my heart shaped face. "You're the reason why he has thrown himself into helping Roland and Lillith. He wants Pandora to be a better place for you."

I smiled and tucked a strand of stray hair back into my cap before I realized I didn't need it. I went in the back in the makeshift locker room away from the food and drinks to shake my hair out after removing my hat. I decided to remove my overalls; I would be just fine running around in my leggings that I always wore under them. Besides, tight clothes got you great tips from the customers of the male persuasion especially. And from a woman or two, as well.

I took a look in the mirror to tame my long, dark hair and noticed bags under my dark brown eyes. I leaned in closer and bit my bottom lip, which was larger than my top lip, as I ran a finger across the bags. This whole Handsome Jack thing that Scooter was involved in worried me so much that the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I pulled out concealer from Moxxie's bag I found in her cubby and did the best I could to cover them up. Satisfied, I continued to get ready.

As I tried to balance to remove my overalls the ground shook and I fell over into the wall where all the clothes were hanging and ripped most of them off the hooks. I cringed once I regained my balance and hoped that nothing ripped. I hung them all back up and checked myself in the mirror one last time. I adjusted my tank top to show only a hint of cleavage, and pulled the waist of my leggings to show a tiny bit of skin. Moxxie taught me that it's better to show only a little so that men and women would notice and work to get all of it. Sometimes I wondered how sound that advice is, but whatever, it was fun.

I made my way back to the bar, retying my apron, and noticed that the two vault hunters were gone. I frowned and my heart fell a bit, but I pushed the whole 'new vault hunters are in sanctuary' hype to the back of my mind until I could talk to Scooter about it later tonight. I found my groove in taking drink orders, making them, and delivering them to the customers when another new person walked into the bar. He didn't have any guns or shields attached to him, so obviously not a crimson raider or a Vault Hunter, but there was something menacing about him. I definitely wouldn't want to mess with him. He had dark hair and what looked like green eyes with a tall, slender build. His tank top and tight cargo pants showed off well-defined muscles and for the second time today I found myself entertaining unfriendly thoughts. I guess I was attracted to tall, slender and muscled men. The first crush I ever had was when I was twelve and the boy looked just like the two men I've noticed today. He moved away, though, and last I heard his mom took a job for Hyperion. Their family isn't welcome here anymore, for obvious reasons.

His strong jaw was set determinedly, and his eyes, hooded with dark lashes, swept across the room and landed on me for a few moments before I looked away, heat warming my face. Even with the embarrassment from being caught my stomach still clenched as heat pooled through my chest and my heart sped up. I busied myself with the drink I was currently making and tried to ignore him as he sat down at the bar. Moxxie would greet him since she was finishing up with another customer.

"Hey, Sugar, can I get you something?" Moxxie leaned on the bar and pushed her cleavage up. She did it with everyone just in case they wanted something more than just a drink, if you catch my drift.

"Beer, please," His tenor voice sent chills down my spine. Gods, I had to really regain control over myself. This was getting ridiculous. I was a pretty confident woman, but today I'd been a jumble of nerves around these intimidating men, and I was _not_ happy with it.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, trying to keep my expression neutral and my head held high, while I mixed the drink. He was holding the beer bottle with long, calloused fingers and was pursing his lips thoughtfully at the bottle.

"What's your story, honey?" Moxxie began a conversation with the newcomer.

"I followed the Vault Hunters here." He took a long swig of beer before continuing. "I'm a writer and I have a feeling about those four." He smiled at Moxxie and his whole face transformed. Before I could get a chance to really admire it he went back to staring at his bottle.

Moxxie didn't respond, which she was apt to do with uninterested customers and moved to others who were paying more attention. I began polishing glasses after delivering the drinks to the last customer for the time being, and watched the man from the corner of my eye. I wondered what kind of story he'd write. If he focused more on facts, or was more interested in the action and gory details.

The glass slipped out of my hands when I tried to maneuver it into another position and it thudded on the ground. I scrunched my eyebrows at the intact glass, briefly wondered what it was made of, and bent over to pick it up. When I righted myself I noticed the man staring at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged at him while laughing at myself and put the glass in the plastic box with the other dirty glasses.

"What's your name?" The man caught my attention with a signal for another beer.

"Lily," it took all I had to keep eye contact. I didn't want to allow myself to be intimidated because I was awesome and not weird, dammit.

"I'm Vince," he offered and I smiled while I popped the cap off the bottle and placed it in front of him.

"So what's your story, Vince?" I normally made it a point to never ask the customers about their lives. Mostly because I knew everyone anyway, and once you got them started, they wouldn't shut up.

"Grew up outside the Arid Badlands, sold armor I poached off of dead bandits, began writing when I turned twenty and started publishing books for a living. Now, five years later, I'm here writing about the next generation of Vault Hunters." He took a gulp of his drink.

"What kind of books have you published?" I began to wipe the counter down with a new cloth Moxxie grabbed and left up here before getting busy.

"Histories, but mostly I write fiction. The majority of sales I get are from hyperion workers, but I'm hoping eventually Pandora will begin to turn around enough so people can get an education. I'll write the history books for free if I have to. This place needs heroes, and I'm convinced it'll be those Vault Hunters who'll pave the way for the change Pandora needs." He took a handful of peanuts, threw them back, and chewed while studying me. His eyes wandered to my chest for a second before he whipped his head around to the slot machines, rubbed the back of his neck, and then looked back to my eyes. I focused on the counter, trying to hide my amusement. I bit my lips to keep from smiling too widely, then looked back at Vince.

"I think that sounds fantastic," I took the empty beer bottle from him, and opened another one for him. "I hope that for Pandora, as well, but I wish I could be a part of the change."

"What would you want to do?" He tapped the bottom of the bottle against the counter and pierced me with those green eyes.

I pressed my lips together tightly and didn't meet his gaze. "I want to be a vault hunter, but my da-, uh, uncle is very protective." I've stopped wiping the counter at this point. It was clean enough from my thorough attention to one spot.

Vince snorted on his beer and I narrowed my eyes at him while he painstakingly avoided my gaze. I crossed my arms across my chest, drawing his attention briefly and finally he looked at me. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because it's exciting. I've lived in Sanctuary for most of my life. I don't even remember living anywhere else, even though I was born in Oasis and somehow got out before the drought shit happened". I placed my hands on the counter and compared my roughened hands with his slender, calloused ones. I wondered what it would feel like for him to…. I shook my head and looked up at him.

"It can be exciting, I guess." He watched me thoughtfully. "However, the most important thing is how well you can shoot a gun." He raised his bottle at me before taking another drink.

"I practice at Marcus' shooting range everyday, and I always hit the target." I beamed proudly.

"Are they moving targets?" His question was like a shot to the gut. Of course it's different. Why would I think that it would be just as easy as target practice?

"Well, no." I stated simply, trying to hide my disappointment.

"You need more experience before you can go out and hunt a vault." He finished his beer and declined another one.

"You're right." I sighed, disappointed. Suddenly an idea began to form in my mind. The Vault Hunters seemed to be making Sanctuary their base and they weren't always going to be out. They would have to practice and train somehow. Why not convince them to let me join them? I could offer to fix up their cars when needed, so what could go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I peered at Maya from behind the center's statue. She and the other new Vault Hunters came back to Sanctuary along with Lilith and Roland. They had been away for quite some time, and their arrival caused quite a stir. Roland's and Lilith's, not the new Vault Hunters. People were still trying to figure out how they felt about them. The vault hunters had disappeared for a few days and I spent most of them wondering where they had gone and what they were doing. I wanted to be out there with them.

A few days later they disappeared again because Lilith moved sanctuary. I overheard her saying something about not associating them enough with Sanctuary to bring them with. That day was intense. I thought back to how Scooter had, at the first sign of Handsome Jack's gun fire, forced me into the garage and told me to stay. There was a lot of screaming and shaking and when we all phased I nearly threw up.

"What are you doing?" I jumped a bit and spun around to find Vince peering around the stone, as well, to see what I was looking at. It was almost comical. Almost.

"That's none of your business." I childishly answered.

"Well, you look like your spying on Maya, which is creepy, by the way." Vince crossed his ankles as he leaned against the large stone. I looked back at Maya and saw her disappear around the corner leading to Roland's command center.

"What's happening at Roland's place? You all keep going in and out and it's making some people nervous."

Vince paused for a second then said, "We're trying to take down Handsome Jack. We may have a valuable source that could help us, and we're taking the chance that this person means well."

I raised my eyebrows. I didn't really expect him to actually tell me. Scooter would just change the subject and start talking about the next upgrade to his catch a ride.

"Well, that's intense." That's all I could think to say. I then blurted, "would you introduce me to Maya?"

He studied me carefully, his eyes unreadable. "Why do you want to meet her?"

"I mean, if you don't want to do it, I can ask Moxxie." A bluff. I'd rather not have my aunt introduce me. That would be kind of weird.

"Hey Maya," he didn't look away from me, but I turned in surprise to see Maya leaning against the rock. Her hand resting on her gun, while the other hung by her side. Her cool blue eyes trained on me, her lips pursed thoughtfully.

"Vince." She nodded at him after tearing her eyes away from me. She was intimidating, and tall. But she was so damn cool. I tried not to act like a star struck fan, even though that's what I was.

"Lilly here wants to train with you all and become a vault hunter herself." He smirked at me and my lips tightened.

"Is that so?" Her face gave away nothing as she turned to look at me, again.

"Yes." I wanted to say more, but I knew I would just end up babbling my whole story and I wanted her to think I was cool. I let my hands fall to my side, and squared my shoulders. The picture of confidence, right?

After a pause Maya said, "We've been really busy and we have some things to do, but the next time we have training, I'll let you know and invite you along." She smirked, waved and left us there. Me, elated, Vince, grinding his teeth.

"Make sure Scooter knows what you're doing, okay?" He stalked off and I rolled my eyes and made my way to Marcus' shooting range.

"Hey Marcus," I leaned against the counter when I arrived and his small smile under his trimmed beard and mustache was the only indication I got that he didn't hate me as much as everyone else.

"Hi, girl," his accent always made me smile. "I have your gun ready to go at your usual booth." He waved his hand in the direction of the shooting range.

"Marcus," my eyebrows drew together. I've been meaning to ask him about this for a while, but it wasn't until now that it really mattered. "Do you have payment plans for your guns?"

His neutral expression worried me until he said, "for you, yes. Anyone else, no." I let out a breath I didn't realized I was holding.

"I want to make a payment on this gun, then." I forked over the money he asked for and continued to my booth. The gun I had chosen was a sniper rifle, with a scope that rivaled any of Hyperion's, and a large loading chamber. It had the potential to light things on fire upon impact, but I had to wait for that upgrade until I paid it off.

I practiced shooting for about an hour until I got a call from Scooter on my echo device. As I talked to him I exited Marcus' shooting range, this time with my gun strapped to my back.

"I have to go see Ellie tonight, she needs help with one of my catch-a-ride stations." I didn't even have to tell him where I was going if I didn't want to. Best to avoid that conversation until I could be sure that I had evidence to back up the fact that I had the potential to be a competent vault hunter. I knew I would survive, I was a quick learner and assessed situations fast and correctly, I think.

"Okay, that sounds fine." I kept my voice neutral.

"Wait, you're not going to beg me to let you come with me?" He sounded confused.

"Nope, I have some things to do here tonight, so…" I trailed off hoping he wouldn't ask what it was I was going to be doing.

"Okay, then," he still sounded confused, but also relieved he wouldn't have to give me another 'it's not safe out there' lecture. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm not sure it will be an easy fix, so I'll probably spend the night at Ellie's."

We said our goodbyes and I practically skipped to a machine that sold shields. I purchased a cheap one, but it was better than nothing.

Six o' clock rolled around slowly, but I had found a car in the catch-a-ride system that needed some repairs. That kept me distracted so I wouldn't go out of my mind with elation for tonight.

I finished up what I was doing to the car, and entered it back into the system with notes that it was almost ready. I watched it deconstruct and after it had completely vanished I removed my overalls, revealing my spandex outfit to work out in. I got the inspiration from Maya. Except my outfit was all black. I had on a tank top, long pants, light boots for running and fingerless gloves I always wore to keep my hands from chafing while handling the gun.

I practically ran to the fast travel station, entered the coordinates and waited patiently for it to load. My heartbeat was erratic and my stomach tied itself in knots, but I was excited. I had never used the fast travel station, but had fixed it enough times to know how it worked. Eventually I felt a tingling sensation and my vision swam as my surroundings changed. I shut them tight to fight off the nausea that seemed to want to clutch my stomach, but as soon as it began, it was over. The nausea remained on the surface, though, and I was grateful for my strong stomach. I opened my eyes and saw the gates of where Sanctuary used to be, the nausea completely forgotten. The tall dark gate glittered in the setting sun, and was opened slightly, which was weird to see, but it wasn't connected to Sanctuary's security anymore.

I pushed the door opened and jumped when a heard a gunshot ring out. The stone of the gate vibrated as the bullet hit it near my hand. I spun around, my back against the door, continuing to push it open, and saw a man covered in combat equipment, his face covered by a mask with his gun pointing at me. His red and black outfit was obvious against the snowy background and blue sky. I managed to squeeze through the opening and ran forward while looking over my shoulder trying to assess if he was following me.

One minute I was running and the next I hit something solid, which stopped me in my tracks and I fell on my ass clutching my stomach from the impact. I looked up to see what I had run into, expecting to see a wall, but instead saw Zero looking down at me, a question mark lighting up his helmet. He hadn't even budged.

My mouth fell open and I blinked up at him at a loss for words. I had forgotten how his presence affected me, and I tried to keep my expression neutral, which meant I had to stop gaping at him. I closed my mouth and scrambled to my feet, and turned my attention to him.

"Why are you running?" His electronic voice sent shivers up my spine, and I had to cross my arms across my body.

"I- I think I was almost shot by a bandit." I looked behind me again, wondering how I had forgotten that as soon as I saw Zero. I instinctively moved closer to Zero.

"You're safe now." He turned and walked away, and I had no choice but to follow him.

He led me to the edge of the pit where Maya and Axton were waiting. Maya was smirking, her hand resting on her cocked hip and the other holding an SMG. Axton's face was unreadable. He stood like a soldier and his muscles strained his shirt as he crossed his arms, the only tell what he was feeling. Zero's back was to us, studying the pit before him. I had a feeling that Maya was the only one happy to see me.

"Wh-where's Sal?" I hated that I was stammering, and that the knots in my stomach were back.

"He's on a mission." Axton's answer was short and to the point.

"Cooool." I drew out my answer, not sure what to say. I obviously couldn't ask what kind of mission.

Finally Maya spoke, "it's good to have you here, Lilly." She winked at me and my stomach settled somewhat.

"She's on you, Maya." Axton turned to Maya, fixed her with a hard stare, which Maya returned with a cool look of her own, and he walked away to another part of the edge of the pit. Zero followed him, leaving Maya and me alone.

I bit my lip and looked back at her after watching Zero and Axton disappear up a metal ramp. She was smirking again.

"Don't worry about them," she nodded her head in their direction. "They're just worried that I'm going to get us killed because I want to help you with your dream." The way Maya said that made me wonder what her story was, but I was too nervous to speak with her freely, yet.

"Well, I'm not going to beg you to take me on missions with you. I just want to learn, first." I frowned.

"I know, but all they see is a young, enthusiastic girl who doesn't know the first thing about being a vault hunter. They're a bit weary is all." She placed both hands on her SMG. "Now, let's get started."

She motioned for me to follow her, and we ascended the same ramp that Axton and Zero had disappeared to. As I followed her, I admired her markings; it was so neat to have a second siren in sanctuary. I wondered if she and Lilith had had time to talk about their shared heritage. I know I would want to talk to someone who shared my same traits such as that.

We arrived at the top of the metal ramp and stretched out before us was a large metal walkway that led to metal stairs up to the next level. Corrosive barrels and barriers were scattered across the walkway and Axton and Zero were standing by the railing, deep in conversation and staring at their echo maps.

"First thing's first," Maya motioned me over to the railing a couple of feet away from Axton and Zero, out of earshot. "Show me what you know." She tilted her head to the pit and I looked out and saw a corrosive slime pit with creatures lolling about.

I pulled my gun off my back, turned on my shield, because I wanted to see it in use, and brought my gun into position. I used the scope to target the first creature. It was large, with crystal legs and a small shielded head. It's skin was tough and looked like metal. My echo told me it was a crystalisk.

I squeezed off a few rounds into its body, which just bounced off. It tilted its body back and roared searching for who had attacked it. It launched a crystal in our direction, but it didn't make it, luckily, since it exploded upon impact.

I took a deep breath and assessed it again through my scope. The crystals on its legs looked fragile, and that's what I targeted next. After a few moments and emptying my entire clip, I managed to take out all four legs, and the creature exploded into a bunch of crystals.

I smiled to myself and then looked at Maya whose face was impassive. "Um, what's next?" I squirmed under her cool gaze.

"I think you're ready to upgrade from target practice to actual combat practice." She turned to look at Zero and Axton. "Zero's the best, and we're going to have to convince him."

"How are we going to do that?" I strapped my gun to my back.

"By throwing you into the midst of a battle and kicking ass, that's how." She began walking toward the metal staircase.

My eyebrows drew together and I followed her, not sure what she meant exactly. Zero and Axton noticed where she was going and rushed up the staircase, while Maya waited for me at the bottom.

When I reached her she pulled out her gun and motioned for me to do the same. I pulled mine off my back and we ascended the staircase. When we got to the top Axton, Maya, and Zero sprang into action and began firing at the bandits roaming the area.

A stray bullet found its way toward me and bounced off my shield, causing it to crack in my vision. I ducked behind a barrier and clutched my gun to my chest. My heart went wild and my vision blurred from fear.

Oh. So that's what she meant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 _Omygodsomygodsomygodsomygods_. There was nothing like a full dose of blood and bullets to chase away the shock. I'd never really left Sanctuary before. Like, I'd go with Scooter to visit Ellie, but we would drive in an armored car, Scooter's invention, because the fast travel station was too dangerous. His words, not mine. One incident involving someone's insides becoming their outsides and that travel shit was banned from me forever. I was the one who fixed it, I know it's safe now.

I was outside of Sanctuary not visiting Ellie, and that was pretty exciting, but obviously I'd been too sheltered. The bandit by the gate was super terrifying, but I was used to one threat at a time since Sanctuary got our fair share of undercover bandits that were taken out no problem, but this. This was completely different. I'd never been in combat before, let alone so many against us five. Well, four and a half. I was the half, in case it wasn't obvious.

I briefly considered making a run down the ramp and toward the fast travel station, but Maya's confidence in me glued my sorry ass to the spot. My hearing softened and all I could hear were distant echoes of bullets, my breathing, and someone, who sounded like Maya, calling my name… I took a deep breath and slowly turned around and peaked over the barrier behind which I was hiding.

My vision was hyper focused as I looked through my scope behind the barrier. Blood splattered everywhere as Maya, Zero, and Axton took out the bandits with ease. I saw a psycho running towards Zero as his back was turned. Zero was engaged with a raging giant so I took the psycho out and continued to look for bandits who were now running toward me. _Breathe._

I took a few more out and realized one had gotten closer than I wanted. I looked down the barrel of my gun instead of the scope and shot him as he ran. Blood splattered everywhere as his head exploded and it got all over my exposed arms. Interesting that blood could get through the shield, but not bullets.

I was shaking when I put the scope back to my eye and accidentally knocked the helmet off of a goliath, which caused him to rage toward me. I watched him in my scope, shocked I had done that. I looked up and was distressed to see that he was closer than I had originally thought. I tried shooting him, again, not in the head, but nothing stopped him. He continued to barrel towards me and all I could do was gape. My stomach sank and all I could think was that I sure wished I had told my dad where I'd gone.

To my extreme relief, Zero appeared from nowhere and took the goliath out from behind. The giant fell and Zero stood above him, wiping his sword on the dead guy's clothes while his helmet turned in my direction. His muscles bunched and I think I fell for him a little. He stood up as Maya and Axton gathered behind him, wiping their weapons clean, no blood splattered their skin or clothes.

"Thank you." I stared at Zero, who sheathed his sword on his back. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but all I could think was how grateful I was that he noticed my predicament. I also knew I had blown it. He'll never take me seriously and never agree to train me to fight, because who freezes when the only option is to defend yourself? Me. I do.

"I will take you home." Zero began to walk back from where we came and I had no choice but to follow him. I pressed my lips together and looked at Maya, whose expression was encouraging. She was smiling-in her cool, above it way-, and I took it as I did a better job than anyone expected. I mean, I'm not dead. So that's a plus in my book.

Encouraged, I smiled back at her, and waved goodbye, too afraid to acknowledge the scowl the commander was wearing. I couldn't help but admire Zero's backside as we headed toward the fast travel station. His muscles bunched as he walked and I felt myself getting a bit hot and bothered. I tried to look elsewhere, but what can I say? I was definitely a red-blooded, straight female with certain needs that I've never felt before because of a lack of options.

I gave up trying to look elsewhere and decided to just admire the view. If guys appreciated looking at my body, then I would do the same as long as there was no non consensual touching and cat calling. Then it's totally fine, right?

We travelled back to Sanctuary with no problems; Zero gave no indication that he was aware of my presence. It was hard to tell with that helmet of his. He escorted me to my house and stood in front of me with his helmet tilted at my face. I shifted from foot to foot.

"Um, so, I can't tell if you actually are okay with me or find me to be a nuisance." I tried to get over my intimidation and be real, the way I always try to be.

"It doesn't matter if I like you or not." He stated simply. "All that matters is if you're willing to work hard to learn to fight without a gun."

"I feel like I've made that obvious." I thought back to what I've projected. I didn't necessarily _say_ such a thing, but my actions have proven how passionate I've been to make this happen. Like, I could have walked- ahem, ran- away from that fight, but I stayed after some quick calming breaths and a short pep talk.

"Then I'll come for you in a few days to teach you." With that cryptic statement he walked away and I watched him with my brows drawn and lips pursed. I couldn't figure out why I was still super attracted to him. He was kind of a jackass. And I had no idea what he even looked like.

The vault hunters were gone for three days, not a few, and during that time I was going crazy with boredom. Scooter and I kept busy with the garage, but my mind continued to wander.

"You seem distracted, Lily," Scooter briefly glanced at me from behind the car he was working on. He had been wanting to make some upgrades for a while, but didn't have the time until now.

"I-" I didn't know what to say. I considered telling him what I'd been up to, but thought better of it. He didn't need to know, yet. I was only practicing and not actually out there being a full fledged vault hunter, which I desperately wanted to be doing. "I'm just wondering where the vault hunters have gone, that's all." I mean, he knew of my obsession, so I was mostly telling the truth.

"I'm sure they're out being reckless," Scooter's token smile broke out on his face. He always did that; tried to make it seem like being a vault hunter wasn't a very smart thing to do. I mean, it kind of wasn't, but the appeal was still very much there.

"Probably," my token response. Not as much enthusiasm this time, though, since I've gotten a taste for it and it was harder to pretend otherwise.

I finished up the car I'd been rebuilding for the past few weeks per the owner's request, and began the chore of putting it into the catch-a-ride system. As it was being scanned in layers by the computer I heard a commotion beginning outside.

I ran up the stairs, Scooter right behind me, and we burst out the door. We followed the rest of the people to the square and what appeared was slightly confusing and very surprising.

Zero and Axton were fighting, but after a few seconds I realized it was all in good fun. Which was a relief. I was worried that they were maybe fighting over Zero agreeing to teach me to fight. I mean, could I be anymore self centered?

"Well, that's unexpectedly, expected." Scooter's twang filled my ear and he placed his arm around my shoulder. I looked at his face smiling down at me, and laughed at his comment.

We watched for a few more minutes, I was mostly watching Zero. Admiring would be a better word. He was quick, graceful, and really good. I was suddenly really looking forward to our private tutoring session. I allowed myself to think of all the ways that he could possibly touch my body, realized it was silly because fighting is painful, and then looked at Scooter, feeling awkward that I was thinking these things right next to him.

"I'm going to go to Moxxie's," I quickly ducked under his arm and ran back to the garage before going to Moxxie's because I realized the car was still scanning.

"Okay," Scooter's distracted voice followed me.

I used my echo device to stop the computer's progress on the car so it wouldn't do anything weird while I was away. It had to be monitored or else it wouldn't scan right and then tires would fly, while engines exploded. It wasn't good for business, that's for damn sure. So, hopefully nothing weird happened while I was distracted for those five ish minutes

I walked the short distance to Moxxie's with the hope that Vince would be back, as well. I changed out of my overalls and t-shirt and pulled on my black mini skirt and long sleeved indigo belly shirt. I served drinks for about an hour or so when Vince finally showed up in his signature tank top and cargo pants. His dark hair was messy, and his skin tight around his swoon worthy green eyes. He saw me, and his stare darkened, which did all sorts of things to my heart. I couldn't stop watching him as he slid into a spot at the bar and flexed his muscles as he stretched his arms above his head.

He hadn't broken his eye contact with me, either. I sauntered over to him, and in Moxxie fashion leaned on the counter and cooed, "hey you, long time no see, what can I get for you?"

"Beer, as always," his deepened tenor voice liquified my spine into a heated mess. His stare remained dark and it was almost frightening.

"Coming right up," I grabbed a bottle from the large fridge, popped the top, and clinked it in front of him.

"So tell me, what have you and the vault hunters been up to the last few days?" I bit my lip and tried not to look too eager. And just like that I felt like a bucket of cold water had doused the fire burning inside of me as his lips pursed and he ran his hands over his face and through his already messy hair.

"I heard you were almost killed the other day when you went to train with Maya." Vince's eyes went back to tight ovals.

"I-, well-" I sputtered, trying to figure out if I had imagined the sexual attraction between the two of us or not. It was so quick, I couldn't be sure. "Zero helped me." I finished, lamely. My shoulders slouched and I couldn't look him in the eye.

"I just don't understand why a well protected girl like you who has a wonderful family and seemingly great life would want to throw that away and-" I cut him off before he could continue.

"First of all," I raised my hand to signal him to shut up. The hot to cold thing made me a bit defensive. "I love my life, and I wouldn't be throwing it away; I'd just be changing a few details. And secondly," I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him. "There's a difference between being protected and being sheltered." With that I stormed off into the back room leaving him with his mouth slightly open and eyebrows raised high.

Maya found me a few hours later at the gun range. I was pretending the target was Vince and it helped cool the imagined steam radiating off of my body. It was nice.

"Lily." Maya greeted in her usual cool manner.

"Hi Maya." I slung the gun around my shoulder and faced her trying to keep my emotions in check. I don't know why Vince got to me as much as he did. He tugged on my guilt strings because I worried about Scooter and what it would do to him if I left the protection of Sanctuary, and him to go out into the world and put my life in danger chasing a silly vault. I just couldn't stop wanting it, though.

"Do you still want hand to hand combat training with Zero?" She cocked her hip. "He's ready to go right now. The impatient bastard." She rolled her eyes and smirked at me.

"I'll go change right now, then." I thanked her and ran off to put on my black spandex outfit before Scooter turned in for the night. I changed in lightning speed and arrived at the fast travel and luckily didn't run into my uncle or else I would have to explain what I wasn't ready to explain yet.

"Are you ready to go?" Zero's black suit had blue accents today and I felt the urge to run my hand over them, which happened to be over solid muscles that I would _really_ love to feel. Ahem. Anyway.

I nodded my head, not trusting my voice in my state of attraction. I'd probably just end up croaking or something else that would be embarrassing. Even now I felt my throat drying up. He chose the destination and soon we were sucked into the warped travel and coming out the other side. My nausea, which had me doubled over, subsided quickly and with it brought awareness to my surroundings. I slowly straightened and looked around at the desert. There was sparse grass and a mountain range entirely surrounding the little field. The mountain was at our back and reached to either side until it met the ocean. There were all sorts of blues, and purples on the horizon as the sun melted into the ocean.

I was so absorbed with the beauty of where we were that I had momentarily forgotten that Zero was with me. His quiet stoicism was always so loud I was surprised I forgot he was there. I looked at him and my eyes widened and my mouth fell open. Zero had drawn his sword and was pointing it at me.

Damn, he didn't mess around.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

There are moments in life that very few people experience. Such as, being famous, or eating an entire car. I'm still not over that. Another experience is being betrayed by someone you trust. And that's exactly what I thought as I stared at Zero's sword near my face. I thought he would finish me off and leave me to never be discovered. I mean, he wasn't ever happy to see me and I think he was still resentful over having to save my ass when I froze at the last training. However, I felt like Zero was on my side and would have my back, but at this moment I questioned everything about him.

I reacted the best I could which was me throwing up my arms to protect myself. I lamely cowered behind defenseless means, but after a few heartbeats nothing happened. I opened my eyes and noticed a silvery dark purple wall blocking my vision.

After a few more heart beats I realized it was a shield floating in front of my left forearm with some sort of a magnetized field between, signified by a warped view of the space through it. I slowly lowered it to see Zero's sword inches from my face. We both stared at each other for a bit before he lowered his weapon.

He didn't say anything, just glided to the middle of the field and stood facing the ocean. I looked back at my shield and it disappeared into my arm. _What the hell just happened_?

I could only assume I developed my special ability. Which changed things. The universe recognized me now as a warrior, and that means it was a calling rather than a volunteer side hobby. Not that Vault hunting could be called a hobby. It was something that I could really excel at. Just like Lilith and Roland. Just like Maya…. just like Zero.

I looked up from where the shield had disappeared into my arm and saw that Zero hadn't moved from his position. I slowly approached him and stood beside him, not knowing what to say.

"Are you ready to learn, now?" His robotic-like voice startled me and my head spun up to him, my eyebrows high. Zero never showed surprise, but even this was a bit too crazy for him. At least I thought, but apparently I was wrong.

"Y-yes." I straightened my shoulders and tossed my long braid across my back.

"You sound unsure." Zero tilted his helmet toward me.

"No, I'm ready." I swallowed hard, hoping he didn't notice.

"You're not very observant." He then faced his helmet toward the water. "You can't let things surprise you, or you'll die."

That's probably the most I've heard him say, and his robotic voice was actually sort of sexy. I took a moment to _observe_ my surroundings. Namely, him. I've never noticed this before, but his left hand was robotic. Probably a fighting accident. His stance was defensive, feet squared, legs apart, knees slightly bent. Subtly I tried to copy his stance, but of course he noticed. He watched me, head tilted slightly at an angle. I bit my lip and raised my head, determined not to be embarrassed.

He didn't say anything, just procedded to instruct me through the basics of combat. Some stances, how to make a fist, what to do when blocking. After I formed the proper poses and such, he began drilling me, throwing fists, forcing me to defend myself, I was breathing heavily, but was able to hold my own. Even though I was sure he was holding back a lot. Like, a lot.

After what seemed like hours we both stood across from each other, our chests heaving. Well, just mine, but he seemed a bit tired judging by his slightly drooping shoulders. I'm pretty sure I'd have bruises by tomorrow.

"Very good." He then lunged at me, catching me off guard. I did my best to react, but my body was so tired, I took a step back and tripped over something ridiculously small and silently cursed my traitorous body. Zero slammed into me and we both went down.

My back slammed against the ground with a giant _woosh_ from my lungs. Zero fell on top of me and my lungs continued to force air out. Zero had my arms pinned by my side and his legs draped across my own to prevent them from moving.

"Always be prepared for a sneak attack". He just as quickly jumped up and helped me to my feet. I rubbed my butt from the impact it took and shot daggers at him. He didn't notice, just beckoned me to follow him to the fast travel station.

When we arrived back in Sanctuary, the sun had gone down and the moon was high in the sky. For some reason the place where we were seemed to be daylight for quite a while. I thought about asking Zero, but he steered me to my house, his hand wrapped around my arm and left me staring after him on my doorstep. I guess someone still didn't like me.

I got ready for bed, and as I was lying there my mind wandered to the shield I had produced. I stared at my left arm and ran my right hand over it. It looked normal, just like usual, and I wasn't sure how to get it to happen again. After Zero's non reaction, I wondered if I had imagined it.

I decided that I'd find Maya as soon as I could and talk to her about it, see if she could shed some light on the whole thing.

As I fell asleep that night I remembered Zero's body spread over mine. At the time I couldn't really enjoy it, but I sure as hell could fantasize about it before sleep. It left my body tingling, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face, and somehow Zero's body morphed into a certain someone with dark green eyes…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

A week later, after the Vault Hunters disappeared again- the day after my training with Zero- along with their stalker, ahem, writer, which meant that I couldn't talk to Maya yet about the shield situation. Lilith showed up at Moxxie's during my shift. I wondered if maybe she could also be someone I could talk to, but she intimidated me way more than Maya did. She walked in, her cool demeanor effecting me by making me drop the glass I was holding. It fell to the floor, again with a thud, and my eyes rolled to the ceiling, baffled by why I haven't broken one yet.

She sat at the bar and watched me, her fingers intertwined and elbows leaning on the counter. I picked up the stupid glass and placed it on the rack of dishes that needed to be cleaned. I tugged at my long braid and turned toward her.

"Hi," my voice came out pretty squeaky. I cleared it and tried again. "Hi, Lilith, what can I get for you?"

She watched me with her bright orange eyes, unwavering in their perusal of my person. I shifted my weight from foot to foot while I waited for her to answer or say something. The lights in the bar were dimmed to blue, since Moxxie wanted to try out different lighting styles, and Lilith's bright red hair seemed to look like it had blue highlights. I concentrated on her hair to keep myself from freaking out too much. I'd never really seen Lilith hanging around the bar, and she usually only stayed in sanctuary for small periods of time.

"You're causing quite a stir with the vault hunters." Her face betrayed no emotion, only calm, cool calculation.

"Am I?" I noncommittally shrugged.

"Quite," she then smirked, and I relaxed a bit. I wasn't sure what her reaction would be to my wanting to vaul hunt. "In fact, Zero and Maya are most impressed with you, and it's quite difficult to get Zero to be impressed with anyone.

"He's impressed with me?" I had a flashback to Zero's training and, I mean, it's so hard to tell what he's really thinking, so I tucked that nugget away for later. I pulled myself back to the present.

"I'm curious to know what Scooter thinks about all this." She cocked her head at me. I bit my lip. Hard.

"Well," I placed my hands on the counter and my eyes jumped around the room. "He doesn't really know." I sighed and looked at my hands. "He doesn't want me to be a part of anything that has to do with Vault Hunting and Crimson Raiders."

Lilith nodded knowingly. "I don't care either way if he knows or not, but that's not going to stop me from offering you some paying jobs from here on out if you want them." Lilith stood up, while my mouth dropped open. "I'll be at Roland's place with the details if you want it. I'll give you a few days to decide." She winked at me and her hips swayed as she strolled casually out the door of the bar.

I sunk to the dirty bar floor and sat on the black plush mat. It seemed like ever since the Vault Hunter's showed up my life had gone exactly the way I had always dreamed. A huge grin split my face and I played with my hair. What if she had me assassinate a bandit camp leader, or maybe I would rescue an important Crimson Raider soldier. My mind whirled with the possibilities, but a slam on the counter caused me to jump a bit.

I pushed myself to my feet and came face to face with Scooter. His smile marks were replaced with drawn eyebrows, and thin lips. "Lily." That's all he was able to get out.

My heart leapt into my throat and my stomach twisted in knots. I was having a hard time breathing and I knew that he knew. He somehow must have overheard Lilith's and my conversation. There was no way he would react like this to anything else. In fact, I don't think he'd ever been like this before.

"Lily. Garage. Now." He turned and stalked out with his hands in his pockets. I waved to Moxxie who had gotten back from her "upstairs work" as a very pleased looking man stumbled after her. I guessed she might have seen the encounter because her lips were pursed and eyes pinched. She waved back, and I felt a rush of sympathy from her. Of course she knew. She knows everything.

I dragged my feet to the garage, and went the long way around. When I arrived, Scooter was leaning against the latest car we were working on. I don't know what I expected, but I really didn't expect him to do what he did. He turned quickly and threw his arms around me. I froze and wasn't sure how to react. I finally returned his hug and he held me for a long while. It was a comforting hug, something that I haven't had from him since I was a little girl who had nightmares about Rakks. Those flying overly large rat-looking bastards.

"I don't tell you this enough, but I love you so much, Lily. Like my own daughter." He continued to hug me and tears filmed across my eyes. "I think of you as my daughter, and I know I've been stupid over the years, insisting you call me your uncle instead of dad, but I hope you think of me as your dad." He pulled away and placed his hands on my shoulders, his brown eyes bored into my own. I gripped his elbows, too choked up to speak so I only just nodded.

"I need to tell you something about your parents. Your real parents, of course." He squinted his nose. I smiled a little through my emotional state. "I don't know much about them, of course, but Moxxie told me what she knew. Both of your parents were Vault Hunters." He paused and the silence was loud, rushing through my ears and brain. "I never wanted you to be a part of that world, because that's how your mom died. I just don't want you to die, Lily."

Tears were flowing freely down my face at that point, and Scooter's face mirrored what I imagined my own looked like. "I-." I tried to respond, but first, I was too emotional, and second, I didn't quite know what to say- I was shocked into silence. Rare for me.

"I want you to pursue your dream, but just know that there's your dear old dad at home always waiting for you to come back. Please always come back." He hugged me again, and I was split between pure joy and bitter sorrow. I never wanted Scooter to worry, but that's just the thing. He would always worry and I needed to be smarter about this whole vault hunter thing. I should have told him, really there were quite a few things that I should have done, but the past is the past. I wasn't going to lie to him ever again, even if I felt like it would make him worry, or try to stop me. Things would work out.

"I love you, dad." Those simple words were things that people said all the time, but I haven't said that in a very long time. He hugged me again, and I felt such peace and love that we lost track of time.

When I went to sleep that night, my entire world felt different. It was unsettling, exciting, and somewhat terrifying. I felt like I was on the edge of something. Like being on a huge cliff, looking down, ready to jump, but not knowing when or what would even happen. But I had to take the jump. I had to. And somehow I had to hope that everything would turn out fine. I had a calling. A calling to explore, protect, and discover Pandora and its people. A calling that was going to change my life and I hoped it was for the better.


	6. Chapter 6

_I decided to combine chapters six and seven in this revision. I realized how short the chapters have been and that's kind of boring, so here ya go! Also, it's been a hot minute. Sorry there's no new chapters. I've been going through a lot, but I'm working on this story again now! I'm hoping to finish this story within the next month. Also, from here on out everything in bold is a direct quote from the game. I don't own that dialogue, etc._

 **Chapter Six**

I went to Lilith the very next day, full of motivation and excitement. I got my dad's blessing to continue on the path of becoming a Vault hunter, and coupled with the fact that it's my calling, today I was feeling absolutely fantastic.

I walked through the doors and took in all the lockers as I went straight toward the stairs. I ran up them, and came to a small corridor with an opening to my left and right. I peeked through the opening to my left and found a room with beds lined against both walls with a door at the end. Probably a bathroom. This must be where the Vault hunters crashed when they're not out on missions.

I then went to the opening on the right and found a large room with a table in the middle and a Vault to the left. Lilith was on the balcony past the table, looking out at Sanctuary. Her red hair was smoothed to perfection, as usual, and she was leaning on the railing. She hadn't seen me, yet.

I moved toward her slowly, not sure if I was supposed to be up here, even though that's what she said on my echo device this morning.

"Hi Lilith," I announced myself when I arrived at the table. It was an electronic map of Pandora.

"Lily," she turned around and smirked. I don't know what it was with sirens, but they were just naturally cool, it seemed. "So glad you could come."

"Yeah, thanks for this. I really appreciate it." I cringed at my awkward reply, but I just rolled with it. Didn't want her thinking I was insecure sometimes. Even though I was.

"Hey, you deserve it." Lilith winked at me, and crossed the room to pick up her echo device on the table. "Mordecai's heard of you, and he wants to see what you can do. I'll contact him now." She pressed a few buttons and who I assumed is Mordecai answered.

"Hey Lilith," the man sounded a bit off. Almost like he was drunk or something.

"Mordecai, I have Lily here with me."

"Oh good. Let me tell you what you need to do" He jumped right into it. This guy seemed like Zero. No messing around. **"A few years back I won two prizes in Moxxie's underdome- A chest full of loot and Moxxie herself. I lost the second prize to Jack, the first to Carson,"** he scoffs, **"I don't care if I never see those guns again, but if you want 'em, just find Carson in the dust."** He finished and I looked at Lilith at the abrupt stop.

She shrugged, "he's a little drunk. She laughed a bit at Mordecai's slurred cry of protest.

"I can hold my liquor, Lilith." He coughed. "Okay, maybe I'm a little inebriated, but I'm not going on a mission. Lily is." With that his echo cut out and Lilith smirked at me and rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, that's the only clue we have right now, so good luck." Lilith said and a thrill ran through me. A challenge, trust. What more could I ask from her?

I stopped by Moxxie's after to pick up my weekly pay. Moxxie mentioned that the vault hunters were on their way back from whatever it was they were doing. I stopped by the garage to see if Scooter needed anything before I went to prepare for this mission. I hoped there wasn't too much to do, because I didn't want to run into Vince or Zero. I didn't want a lecture from Vince, or an imagined discouraging stare from Zero. Even with Lilith's comment about his being impressed with me, I still wasn't convinced. I wanted to lock myself in my house, prepare for the mission, and get started tomorrow.

I was shaking. The whole mission that I was entrusted with hit me. I tended to get hit by the reality of things at the most random moments. Oh, you're about to get shot? Wow, maybe I should have told Scooter where I was. Oh, you got a good paycheck? Holy hell, I'm going to die on this mission and not use the money for anything. My stomach was tied in knots, and I was pretty sure if I had eaten anything it would be on the ground spewed between Moxxie's and Scooter's. And that would have been super embarrassing. Like, _really_ embarrassing.

Scooter was there working on a car when I popped in. I took a few deep breaths.

"Hey, do you need anything from me today?"

Scooter's round face peeked out from under the truck and grinned. "Well, I do need to run a few errands." He removed himself from underneath, and grabbed an oily towel to attempt to remove the grease covering his hands and arms. Basically all he did was smear it around and into his already stained skin. "It just needs an oil change and the brake pads need to be changed as well."

"I can finish it up." I smiled, relieved that I didn't have to do more than that. But also glad I could procrastinate the mission for a while so I could calm myself down. Scooter mentioned something about his Catch-A-Ride station as he put the towel in the laundry basket. He came over to me and gave me a peck on my forehead, "let me know if you leave Sanctuary. I'm stepping back from making decisions for you, but I want to be updated every hour on how you're doing." He walked backward out of the garage giving me _the look_. You know the one. The look that every dad gives their child when they're being super serious.

I gave him a salute to show him that I will do my best, and then blew him a kiss. Our relationship had changed, but remained the same, and I loved that I could talk to him freely about my path I was taking as a vault hunter and still have him love me and accept me.

I grabbed my overalls from the hook by the laundry and put them on over my now dubbed _vault hunting clothes_. I got to work on the brakes and lost myself in the work until I was interrupted as I finished the car.

Vince showed up.

He looked disheveled, his hair was a bit longer and sticking out in certain places, while his signature tank was replaced by a green, fitted tee. When he got closer I noticed dark circles under his eyes.

I pushed myself out from under the car, grabbed a clean towel to wipe my hands and turned to stand in front of him. "Do you ever sleep?" I tried at lightheartedness, but failed miserably. He always made everything so serious.

"You can't go on the mission." It was all he said, and the initial attraction I get when I always see him was immediately covered with annoyance. He seemed to know everything before I told him.

"You can't tell me what to do." I threw the rag across the hood of the car and stomped over to the sink to wash my hands. I didn't care whether or not he followed me or left, I pulled my overalls off after cleaning my hands and threw them over a random chair and spun around to find he was right there. His expression unreadable, but his green eyes popped with the green he was wearing.

"Look," I rubbed my hand across my forehead. "I honestly don't understand why you care so much. I hardly know you, and you obviously don't know me, and-" as I talked he got closer and placed his hands on my hips, pushed me against the wall and covered his mouth over mine, effectively silencing me.

I was surprised and all I could think was, 'is this really happening?' His mouth slanted across mine when I didn't respond, and the intensity of the kiss and the chills running over my body made me finally respond enthusiastically.

I threw my arms around his neck and he locked his arms around my waist and squeezed. I couldn't help but sigh against his warm, soft lips- definitely the only thing soft about him-, and he took advantage by slipping his tongue into my mouth. The wet heat affected my body in ways I had never felt. My body burned all over, and a strange ache began in my chest and stomach. Ahem- and other places.

I ran my hand through his already messy hair and reveled in its softness. For a moment we broke apart, our faces close together, our bodies still pressed against each other, and stared at each other. His pupils were dilated and his chest heaved against my own.

He smirked, as if he liked my wide eyes and parted lips, and leaned closer, but didn't allow our lips to touch. I placed my hands on his shoulders to pull him closer, and he ran his warm, strong hands down my waist to my hips and back up. I shivered and our lips met again. This time it was more sweet than hard. It lasted a few seconds and we disentangled ourselves slowly.

We just smiled at each other, and I was pretty giddy. I think I even giggled a bit. Ugh. However, I didn't regret it, because that kiss was the best kiss of my life. I mean, it was the only kiss I'd had up to this point in my life, but that was beside the point.

After a minute, coming down from _that_ high, I realized that he never quite answered my question. I bit my lip, and my eyebrows drew together. Vince seemed to sense the change because he let go of my waist, reluctantly I might add, and took a step back.

"That's not really an answer, you know." I traced my still tingling lips. "It was pretty great, but not really an answer" I said again, softly. Vince kicked at the concrete floor, his hands in his pockets, and watched as some dust puffed around his boot. I briefly made a note to sweep the floors soon.

"I care about you," he wouldn't look at me, and began rubbing the back of his neck. It sounded like he had more to say, so I leaned back against the wall, folded my arms and waited.

"I have, uh, had a sister. You remind me of her." He looked at me, his green eyes were a bit too bright. My heart lurched at his pain, but I still didn't say anything.

"Her name was Gaige. She wanted to be a vault hunter so bad. She followed me and the other vault hunters across Pandora to join us. I was extremely pissed at her, but I took a little comfort in the fact that the robot she invented came with her. She named him deathtrap, and he definitely was a killing machine. Still, though. She was so young and innocent and a bit naive." He pursed his lips when he saw me cringe. "I don't mean you two are naive in a bad way. It just comes with the territory of being a teenager. Anyway," he paused to get back on track. He drew his hands deeper into his pockets.

"It happened when we were searching for sanctuary. We had found Scooter's catch-a-ride station, but we weren't registered in the system. When we infiltrated a bandit camp looking for a part we needed to override the system to get a car-" he hung his head and started kicking at the ground again. "I shouldn't have left her. I thought that her deathtrap had more life left in him than he did. I noticed too late that she was fighting two goliaths. Two. Not just one. They knocked her around like a rag doll, and she just… just was so still, and…" He buried his face in his hands, trying to wipe away the tears. I took a step toward him and reached out to him. He scooped me into his arms and we held each other. I didn't know what to say. What could you say to that? I'm sorry just didn't cut it.

"That was about a month or so ago. I've lost track of time, so I don't really know." Vince mumbled in my shirt. "When I first met you, the pain and loss was still so new, I- I transferred my protectiveness to you. I'm so sorry if I made you feel incompetent, or anything. I just became so consumed in saving the girl who reminded me of my sister that I didn't take a step back to realize that you're definitely not my sister. You're very capable and talented, and you're definitely not naive. Not like Gaige." And then he mumbled in my ear, his lips brushing my lobe causing tingles to flow down my neck and shoulder, "and did I mention you're definitely not my sister?"

"Vince, I'm truly so sorry for your loss." I whispered in his ear after a brief soft laugh at his innuendo. His response was to hold me tighter. My contempt toward him disappeared during his heartfelt explanation. It's amazing what a little communication and understanding can solve.

"Why don't you come with me on this mission that Lilith gave me?" It popped out of my mouth before I could actually think about it. I mean, I would feel better not going alone, but I still wasn't sure if Vince was just a writer, or if he also knew how to fight and, well, vault hunt. In fact I then started thinking about why I'd never asked before. Did he actively participate in the fighting or did he watch passively as he spoke into his echo device about what he was observing?

Vince slowly pulled away from me, lips pursed, eyes unreadable as he looked at me. He rubbed his neck. "Well, I could, but Zero would be a better person to ask."

It was my turn to purse my lips and study him. I really would rather Vince come with me, and there was the fact that I really didn't think Zero would go for it. Which I mentioned.

"I really don't think Zero would want to go with me. I think he's already reluctantly training me on how to fight, and to ask one more thing of him might make him quit me completely."

Vince was silent for a few beats and just watched me. "Do you really think Zero doesn't like you?" He finally said.

"Well, yeah. He's always acting like I'm a huge burden." I sighed and walked over to the car, grabbing the echo pad off of the table next to it on my way. I set up the pad to deconstruct it into the system. I looked over my shoulder and Vince was right behind me. He just watched what I was doing. I looked back at the pad to continue.

"I promise that Zero doesn't feel that way." He kicked the floor again.. "He speaks highly of you. He'll gladly go with you. In fact, I'll go talk to him right now." I turned around, ready to protest, but he was long legs of his, man.

I watched him walk away, biting my lip when he waved at me at the big door to the garage. I raised my hand in return and he disappeared around the corner.

A huge breath I didn't know I was holding whooshed out of me as I placed my hands against the car and hung my head. So much happened today I didn't know where or when to process it. All I knew was that I had to prepare myself to see Zero. Later I would need to sort out my feelings for Zero _and_ Vince. I was not looking forward to that. And I definitely not looking forward to the conversation with Vince talking about what just happened today. I've never had experience with romance or crushes and suddenly the mission seemed really simple.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

I find Zero leaning against a wall outside of my house the next morning. I had gone home after my _talk_ with Vince and had thrown myself into prepping for this mission. I packed a bag of dried meat, dried fruit, and a large canister of water. The bag wasn't super heavy, so I added a clean, oil-free washcloth and a toothbrush. Didn't want to smell with Zero around. I didn't know how long this was going to take.

"Ready to go?" He broke away from the wall and started walking in the direction of the fast travel station. This seemed familiar.

"Um, how long have you been waiting there?" I fell into step beside him and I wondered if he ever really waited for anyone in his life.

"Doesn't matter, we're on our way now." he had a small pack on his back, his short swords crossed underneath the pack, and a sniper rifle attached securely with two straps around his hip and right thigh.

I fell silent and pressed my lips together. He was just as infuriating as Vince. I thought back to Vince's and my conversation. I didn't know what to make of him still. I didn't know him all that well, and I was starting to feel a little silly over kissing him the way I did. Curse my hormonal body. I don't think I'd let him do that again because I had some feelings for Vince that wouldn't let me have a casual kissing relationship.

Our first stop was Ellie's. I was excited to see her and when we popped into the dust near her garage, the nausea just a distant memory at this point, I ran right at her when we spotted each other and she squished me into her large body. Just like Moxxie, she was comfortable in her own skin, and had all these men and women vying for her attention and I really believe that sex appeal and confidence was genetic because it didn't come as easily to me as it did to them.

"Scooter mentioned you were coming." Her voice was higher pitched than Moxxie's and she was tall with Scooter's brown hair and Moxxie's permanently raised brow. She smiled cooly down at me, and I beamed up at her.

"Hey Zero," my aunt nodded her head in his direction. "Thanks again for those statues. Having them back has been great."

I looked at Ellie and raised an eyebrow. "Were your statues missing?"

"Yeah, but only for a little bit. Zero showed those bandits who's boss." she winked at me. "Which is me." I laughed at her blatant confidence and was really glad that she and Moxxie were my female role models growing up. I think I'd be a little bit more insecure than I already was.

"We're here for a bad ass car, if you wouldn't mind sparing one?" I cut to the point after looking at Zero. I haven't seen Ellie in a while and wanted to just sit down and chat with her, but I had a mission and wanted to seem professional.

"Hell yeah, I don't mind at all." She led us back to her garage. "I finished this beauty with Scooter just the other day". She typed in some commands on the catch a ride station. A sleek black, armored tank appeared on the pedestal. Its windows were tinted, and a large bomb launcher sat atop its roof.

"That's way cool," I said and nodded along with Zero. This was the first time I noticed he seemed pleased with something.

"Do you know anything about Carson?" Zero finally spoke.

"Not much, but last I heard he was up at Goose's Roost." She pointed and we followed her gesture to see a tall rock structure in the distance.

Zero nodded his helmet and marched up to the tank and got in the driver's seat. I looked at Ellie and she shrugged. I waved and hurried after him and as I was closing the passenger door, he took off toward the rock structure.

Zero raced the car across the desert, kicking up dust and scaring the shit out of me when he stopped abruptly and tail spinned to directly face the tall structure. My hands braced against the dashboard. We both looked out the window and up and realized pretty quickly that there really wasn't an easy way up into the small settlement.

Zero faced his helmet toward me and I looked back at him, then we both looked out the back window at a rock structure that suspiciously looked like a ramp. I sighed and Zero seemed like he was grinning under that helmet. He was gripping the steering wheel-leaning forward- and was looking back and forth at the two structures.

He violently whipped the car backwards and this time the front of the car spun to face the bottom of the ramp-like structure. We looked at each other and I shrugged. Here goes nothing. He stepped on the gas and I readied the cannon. We rounded the ramp to the opposite side and sped up as we went up the incline. Zero didn't even hesitate as he approached the ledge. I definitely would have slammed on the brakes. Good thing I wasn't driving. We launched into the air sooner than I was ready for, and it was a lot.

I'm not going to lie. I had a moment where I thought I was going to die. Like, maybe we wouldn't make it to the other side, or maybe we'd land on the spikes that I could now see surrounding the bandit camp. I grabbed Zero's hand that was resting on the gear shift and I squeezed what I call the "oh shit" handle attached to the roof right above the window. My stomach twisted from the unusual pull of gravity and my heart raced from fear, excitement, adrenalin.

We landed with a huge jostle and I think I might have gotten whiplash, but that was something to worry about later because our arrival didn't go unnoticed. The bandits immediately launched their grenades and started shooting the second we crashed into their camp. I whipped my hands away from his hand and the handle I was squeezing and positioned them on the triggers in front of me. I launched a bomb and the dust began to sweep through the settlement.

The fire, blasts, and dust obscured my vision outside the windows, but I continued to launch the bombs toward them. Zero had jumped out of the car right after I let go of his hand and I trusted that he was smart enough to stay out of my line of fire. The noise was deafening and my heart continued to race. After a few minutes I only heard my own bombs, and I realized that the car could only go so far. I grabbed my gun, activated my shield-the bought one, not the one that I could generate from my own body- and jumped out of the car.

I spotted Zero immediately, jumping from one spot to the next all the while shooting at the bandits around him. I ran over to him to join the fight and shot a few suicide psychos on my way. I had to jump behind a crate for one as he got too close and activated the bomb he was carrying. The blast broke the crate and I felt some slivers brush my cheeks and arms. I think I needed a better shield. Good thing there was no blood this time. It took me forever to scrub it out of my clothes last time.

I bounced to my feet and zigzagged toward Zero. There were a few shielded bandits that forced me to spin on my heel to avoid their barrage of bullets. I returned many of my own and eventually I broke from the dust it kicked up and I couldn't see where Zero had gone. He had remained just in the corner of my eye the whole time until now.

The wind started up and even more dust blew into my eyes and I had to duck behind a barrel to block the worst of it. Note to self: buy goggles.

The wind died down quickly and I rushed in the direction that I had last seen Zero disappear to. I blasted around the corner and nearly ran into a raging goliath. I spun, ducked and barely missed him. He blasted forward and I used his poor agility against him by emptying the last of my bullets into his back. He went down as I reloaded my gun, my hands slipping over the gritty surface. I would definitely need to clean my gun later.

My gun was ready just in time since he tried to push his hulking body up from the ground, but I landed some well placed bullets into his back, again, and this time he stayed down. My braid whipped around my face as I looked around for Zero. The dust was beginning to settle, and I was almost certain that we had cleared this camp. We had ended up on the other side of the settlement and I didn't see anyone else. Zero then rounded a corner up ahead and walked quickly toward me.

"Everything's clear." His helmet faced in my direction for a moment as I fell into step beside him. "I saw something back this way". He abruptly turned down an alleyway that I didn't notice before. We walked to the end and found another open area scattered with dead bodies. Zero must have cleared this out while I was hiding from suicidal psychos.

There was a metal slab off in the corner of a few makeshift buildings. It wasn't lying flat and it made sense why when Zero pushed it away with his boot. A body, longer dead than the ones around it, layed with an echo recorder right next to his arm.

I picked it up and turned it on. The device flashed the names of those who had spoken in the interaction.

 **Gettie: "Where's the chest, Carson?"**

 **Carson: "What was that noise? It sounded like some Hyperion Screw trying to pump me for info. Didn't it sound like that, brother?"**

 **Mavis "Sure did, brother. Why don't you-"**

Gunshots boomed through the speaker and I visibly startled. Zero quickly glanced at me, then back at the echo.

 **Carson: "Mavis! NO!"**

I looked at the body that was probably Mavis and I tried not to throw up. I jumped again when the silence after the recording was interrupted by Mordecai. Damn, was I on edge. Too much adrenaline, maybe?

 **Mordecai: "Gettie's after the treasure, too?** [Shit], **He's a Hyperion goon, more bent than a boomerang. He probably took Carson to the Hyperion Friendship Gulog.**

Zero faced his helmet at me, he must have heard Mordecai on his echo, as well. "I know a shortcut to that place."

I dropped the echo next to Mavis and turned to follow Zero back to the car. Such is the life of a vault hunter. I don't know why his death bothered me so much more than the bandits I've killed. Maybe it was the difference between murder and self defence. Whatever it was, I had to forget about it and move on to the next mission at hand.

We get back back to the car that amazingly didn't take that much damage. There were a few scratches here and there, but for the most part its exterior shone in the midmorning sun and seemed to defiantly face the cleared settlement.

We climbed in and Zero drove in silence, his usual stoicism a slight comfort for me, helping me forget about the whole Mavis incident. The next trick was to get the car down from the ledge, but Zero just sped toward the edge and we dropped to the bottom. I clutched his arm and I might have screamed, but I don't remember because I think I might have hit my head when we crashed at the bottom. I didn't pass out, It just shocked me out of my fear. The car was fine, strangely, and Zero took off through the desert.

I used the washcloth and water to wash off the blood and dust as I watched the desert pass by, after shaking myself out of the shock and fear. Zero expertly avoided the other bandit cars that tried to follow and shoot at us. There was one particular tail that I got so annoyed with that I turned the turret on our car toward them and fired. That took care of that pretty fast.

We arrived at what was a deceptive tunnel, but I could see the magnetic field blocking the way in. It was a fast travel station for a car. I don't think I've ever seen one of these before or even heard of it.

Zero connected the car to the fast travel system and typed in a location that I didn't quite catch. The same feeling that normally occurs when traveling is worse when it moves an entire car. I clutched my stomach when we arrived on the other side.

When the nausea passed I took stock of our surroundings. Zero was driving as if he wasn't affected at all. He probably wasn't. The land was still a desert, but there were some green plants and bushes. Instead of bandits, there were what my echo device identified as slags. They kept charging the car, but Zero just ignored them as I watched in fascination and a little bit of horror as they disappeared and reappeared nearby.

We headed toward a tall mountain in the close distance and stopped at the bottom. My stomach growled and I pulled out the dried meat and fruit. I offered some to Zero, but he declined with an upraised hand. Of course he wouldn't take his helmet off. I wondered if he ever took his suit off, either. I wondered what was under… ahem.

"So, why did we stop?" I asked him around a mouthful of jerky.

"Scoping out the path." He replied while he stared up at the top of the mountain.

I followed his gaze and saw a gate toward the top. We weren't going to be able to take the car through there. Which meant we had to be prepared with everything we had. I looked through the car and found some bombs that I attached at my hip. I also found a shield that was so much better than the one I had now. There was a little note attached to it indicating that it was from Ellie to me.

I smiled and replaced it on my person and threw the other one in the back. Maybe this one would keep blood splatter and glass off of me. Speaking of glass. I looked in the mirror and noted that the scratches on my face weren't that bad. They were actually fading quite quickly. Another sign that I was meant to be a vault hunter. Vault Hunters tended to regenerate health a lot quicker than normal.

"You ready for part two?" Zero's mechanical voice broke the silence. I didn't jump this time, thank the gods.

I threw my bag into the back and straightened my gun holster after checking the clip. "Totally ready." I didn't look at him, afraid that he would see the wide eyed fear.

I don't think you could ever be ready to face death.


End file.
